This invention relates to seals and, more particularly, to a component having a retention feature for limiting movement of a feather seal.
Feather seals are commonly known and used in aerospace and other industries to provide a seal between two adjacent components. For example, gas turbine engine vanes are arranged in a circumferential configuration to form a vane ring about a center axis of the engine. Typically, each vane includes an airfoil and a platform section. When assembled into the ring, the platforms abut and define a radially inner section for receiving hot gas flow and a radially outer surrounding section.
Typically, the platforms include channels for receiving a feather seal that seals the radially inner section from the radially outer section. Although feather seals often provide effective sealing, conventional feather seals may become damaged during assembly of the vanes into the vane ring. For example, the vanes may be manually arranged into the vane ring configuration before assembly into the engine. During assembly, the vane positions may be adjusted to achieve the desired vane ring alignment, which may cause the feather seals to become liberated from the channels or cause the feather seals to move within the channels. The movement may damage the seals or cause the seals to move from a desired sealing position and thereby prevent the feather seal from properly sealing. Additionally, dimensional variation of the channels and seals may contribute to slightly oversized or undersized channels that permit seal movement or pinch the seals. Moreover, once the vane ring is assembled, disassembly of multiple vanes may be required if it is necessary to replace a damaged feather seal.